Shalom
by moonfaerie326
Summary: Shalom," she said it so often, but he didn’t realize that the last time she had really been saying “goodbye”.


**This is kind of a missing scene from "Aliyah" but it's not at the same time. **

**Short little one shot that probably doesn't make any sense at all but it does in my mind, so you may have to wander over to my side of the line if you do not understand it. ^_^**

_Shalom._

To some, it was just a word, but to him it was so much more. Shalom was what he was greeted with every morning, he had come to expect it, to relish it.

_The bullpen was silent as she stepped off the elevator, for once she wasn't the first person there and it felt a little bit strange. It only felt stranger as she rounded the corner to the bullpen and there sat Tony. "Good morning, Tony." She greeted, inclining her head in his direction before turning towards her desk._

_There was a silence from her partner, and she slowly turned to stare at him only to realize her look was returned. "What?" she questioned, confused by the strange look on his face._

"_You didn't say shalom." His face was contorted into a confused expression, his eyebrows were wrinkled and his lips twisted._

_She laughed softly, shaking her head as she sat in her seat, "Shalom, Tony." She whispered softly, enjoying the smile that spread across his face at her words._

"_G'morning." He chirped back, and the smile stayed on his face the rest of the day._

She never used shalom to say goodbye, she had different ways of saying goodbye. He knew her well enough to know that she hated to utter that phrase, in her previous experience all goodbye's have been final or something she was reluctant to accept, and she hated them.

"_Well Ziva, goodbye," He hated this part, the part where he had to part ways with her for the night before he would be able to see her again the next day. "I guess I will be seeing you."_

_She laughed then, and he found himself smiling as well. "Tony do not make it sound so final, yes? We will see each other in a matter of hours." She smiled at him, shaking her head in that way he loved so much it was like she knew something he didn't but she wasn't going to tell him anytime soon. "Lailah tov, Tony." _

_Her smile was sweet, his was charming, and they both parted ways with feelings of contentment._

It was what he was greeted with on the phone, and sometimes he found himself calling just to hear her say it to him. To him shalom meant so much more then he could describe.

_The phone clicked in his ear and he waited with bated breath for her to answer, "Tony?" Came the familiar voice but not the familiar greeting._

_Tony sighed, his tone subdued as he responded, "Ziva."_

He would have held onto those moments when her lips curled around the word if he had known it was going to vanish before his eyes. He would have held her tighter if he had known she was going to be gone soon after.

_The word no longer came to him as a form of greeting, he would occasionally hear her speak it on the phone now and again but it wasn't directed at him. The change caused something inside him to shift, and as he turned the corner to entire the bullpen the word flew from his lips before he could change them, "Shalom, Ziva." _

Shalom it meant peace, completeness and welfare; but it was often used as a form of greeting or a way of saying goodbye, he had known that much. He shouldn't have been surprised by its meaning when he found himself typing the word into the search engine. After all, the signs were present within him. Didn't he feel peace flow through him every time he spoke to her, every time she greeted him didn't he feel complete? He didn't need answers to the questions they were there staring him in the face, causing him pain to remember things that he had lost.

Had he known how much it meant to him, how much _she_ meant to him he would have done something, _anything, _to make her realize his feelings, but he himself had realized them too late.

The last time he heard her speak the word to him he found himself too caught up reveling in the fact that she had once again said it to dwell on its context. He felt like he could jump for joy, he had to resist the urge to run to her and pull her into a full blown hug. She was back, and he knew it would happen, he did.

He had found himself surprised as he watched her spin on her heel, her hair flaring out behind her in a wave as she walked. He had found himself confused as he watched her back, she was walking away from him.

He was so caught up in the word, that he hadn't realized she was saying "goodbye".

**It may have been a TINY bit sad, but it wasn't too sad right? I wanted it to be sadder but I could not bring myself to compile more angst into my already angsty mind. XP I hope you enjoyed it, this came to my mind while I was watching "Designated Target".**

**REVIEW PLEASE. [and yes, I am indeed begging you]  
**


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